Of course you want your baby to come soon, and you are also willing to wait and be patient, and of course you want your baby to be healthy and want to make the "right" choice to try and ensure that. And you have researched and tried many suggestions about how to bring on labor "naturally," or at least in a less interventive way than typical medical induction methods. And now being on a "clock" waiting for the induction Date. What is a mother to do?

I'd suggest starting WITHIN. Yes there are statistics for problems with baby past certain dates of gestation, and statistics for problems with induction methods. But there is only so much that we can learn about our unique situation from medical technology. It is only one part of the Whole Story. What do you know or not know when you look deep within yourself? What is Your Story?

Consider also: "How do I know that my baby is ok or not ok? How am I staying connected with my baby through this time of not-knowing?"

You've already looked at benefits, risks, and even some alternatives. Now, what does your intuition tell you? Your night dreams perhaps? Insights on a slow walk in nature?

Pull out some colored pencils or markers and start moving them across the paper - what images arise? What does the pen want to draw? What colors are you drawn to or not drawn to?

Find or draw a labyrinth and trace it slowly, with Breath Awareness (noticing your breath with awareness without trying to change anything), three times - what arises within?

Place your hand on your belly and talk to your baby. What does your baby have to tell you?

This Date is just a date - maybe it will arrive and you will know that starting an induction is what feels right, the next best thing to do. Maybe, you go into the hospital and try just a foley bulb for a few hours, resting, waiting. And then add chemical methods if and when that feels right. Maybe the Date arrives and you reschedule for just a few days later, maybe it doesn't feel right yet, perhaps going in for monitoring everyday if you and your provider want that particular king of reassurance. Or maybe you wake up tomorrow, well before the Date and know that it's time to go into the hospital and get induced that day.

There is no shame, and there is no blame in whatever you decide, you are making the best decision you can with the information you have available to you at that time. This is the love warrior, the birth warrior. She hunts for answers, like you are doing now, and when the moment is right, the love warrior leaps forward and takes action (which is sometimes deciding not to act).

There is a part of you, a part of all of us, that knows what to do when we don't what to do.